The 2016 second children's forum opened on August 12 in a friendly environment and exciting atmosphere where kids felt free to speak up their thoughts and ideas...
The 2016 second children's forum opened on August 12 in a friendly environment and exciting atmosphere where kids felt free to speak up their thoughts and ideas. The dialogue was also attended by Nguyen Duy Bac, Vice-Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee.
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| Presenting ideas and initiatives. |
21 ideas and suggestions from children throughout Khanh Hoa Province were reported at the event. Most children focused on assuring a safe environment for them at home, at school and in the society; preventing students from traffic accidents, drowning and violence at school, etc. A child named Truong Nguyen Mai Huyen, Ninh Hoa Town, expressed her hope for having swimming classes at school and traffic safety assurance at schools located on the national road 1 and measures for safe use of social networks.
Another girl named Huyen Truong An Phuc, Ninh Hoa Town, showed her concern over food safety and complained about unsafe street food sold near schools. A representative of Nha Trang City children suggested developing a safe vegetable cultivation model to assure food safety for boarding students.
Meanwhile, children of the 2 districts of Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh mentioned issues related to recreational places for children and roads to school, especially in rainy seasons. “The road in front of Khanh Vinh Boarding Ethnic Minority School and some other roads are often flooded with huge sink holes in rainy seasons. I hope they can be repaired soon to facilitate our travel to school,” says Cao Phi Pham, Khanh Vinh District.
Other suggestions included piloting an inflatable swimming pool model for swimming classes, increasing extracurricular activities; practicing accident and injury prevention and control skills; putting up more warning signs of danger and risks to swimmers. All the children’s ideas and aspirations were taken into consideration by leaders of the province, departments, agencies, organizations; and child care and protection experts.
“Over the past years, the provincial leaders and local authorities have paid great attention to child care and protection. However, there still remain some challenges. The forum is a chance for adults to listen to children’s voice, share and understand their concerns and aspirations, assuring the protection of children’s rights,” says Trinh Thi Hop, Deputy Chairperson of Khanh Hoa Department of Labor, Invalids & Social Affairs.
The forum, which has been held for the second time, has provided opportunities for children throughout the province to voice their feelings, thoughts and suggestions to protect themselves. Adults can learn what children think, need and wish for, so that responsibilities for child care and education will be raised.
The 2016 second children’s forum themed “For safe lives, prevent accidents and injuries for children" drew 80 kids representing more than 294,000 children in Khanh Hoa Province. They joined a musical show, a painting contest and a knowledge contest about children’s rights. Ninh Hoa Town was awarded for its excellent performance in many activities at the event.
“After the forum, local departments, agencies, organizations and communities are required to consider the children’s recommendations; integrate the ideas into relevant projects and programs; and report specific results for the next forum preparation”, affirms Nguyen Duy Bac.
Vinh Thanh
Translated by N.T
